


One Call Away

by Catastrokey (orphan_account)



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, I'm so sorry, M/M, half an hour until ep 70 arrives and I post this shit show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 12:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13834191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Catastrokey
Summary: The ringing of the hotline cut him off and Sammy, in a fit of desperation picked it up without a second thought,“Sammy, I’m so sorry.”





	One Call Away

When Sammy had emailed Merv with the intention of buying out his contract, he hadn’t expected the answer to be no. Merv insisted that while he couldn’t force Sammy to renew, he could have Sammy honor his current contract so they had time to find a replacement. By that time, all of his emotions had been too spun out to fight back, so he’d told himself it wouldn’t be long and started taking his sick days.

He _would_ have to see Ben again, but he could delay the inevitable as long as possible.

He’d spent those days hiding in his apartment and getting drunk.

But, eventually, he had to leave the comfort of his home and face them, face Ben.

Arriving at the station felt like entering another world. He hadn’t thought he would ever come back the last time he left, and yet here he was right back where he had told Ben he was giving up on this entire town. That he was giving up on their friendship because he was a fucking coward.

He’d been careful to time it out so he walked in just as they were about to go on air, as little time to talk privately as possible.

The awkward small talk of the show's intro had been painful, but he knew in his gut that opening the phone lines would be a thousand times worse.

Sometimes, Sammy really hated being right.

“Ben, Sammy.”

Troy.

Well, this was going to be just dandy. There was  _no way_ he was getting out of this without getting an ear full.

“Troy,” Sammy was cut off before he could get any farther.

“Don’t you ‘Troy’ me. You been avoiding us! Now I know you ain’t got any faith left and you been trying to find your boy for so long now. I _know_ that it’s gotten hard to believe you’ll find him. But Sammy? You can lean on us.”

There was a moment, just one, where everything seemed to hang suspended on a taut string, like the smallest of shakes would send them all crashing to the ground.

“We’re here for you Sammy. We found Emily, we can find your Jack.”

If only that were true.

“No,” his voice broke, “you can’t. Troy, he’s with Debbie. He… His  _voice_ was in that recording. God dammit. Fucking Olivia, Golden Owl, whatever she wants to be called, said his name. I think we all know she’s not exactly talking to the living. Jack got  _taken_ , and I spent so much fucking time thinking he had gone crazy because I didn’t believe in all this wacky shit and now Jack is paying for it. I didn’t believe in all this supernatural crap. _I didn’t believe him and now he’s gone_.”

Sammy could hear the heavy silence from across the desk, the weight of Ben’s stare compressing his chest until he could hardly breathe, but he had to get this out. They had to _know_. He’d lied for so long and now it was time for the truth.

“It took me months to get here because I thought he was going crazy. I spent months searching the city for him because I was convinced he couldn’t have gotten far without a bag or his car. _I didn’t believe him so I wasted all that time looking for him in the wrong place_.”

Sammy had to stop for a moment, take in a deep breath and steel himself for his own next words.

“So when I got here, it was already too late. I lost him forever and it might as well have been my own damn fault.”

Silence rang for just a moment, thick and cloying with Sammy’s own self-loathing.

“This isn’t over,” Troy said the words like they were set in stone even as Sammy knew that it was futile to fight the truth of his situation any longer.

The sound of the phone being hung up actually felt like it slammed into Sammy’s chest. Troy had given up, maybe not entirely, but even that lost ground felt like a defeat even though Sammy himself was on the other side.

It was Ben who finally broke the dead air.

“You know that’s not true right?”

Oh god, Ben had thatface on, the stubborn set of his jaw and the fire in his eyes. Troy may have given up on that conversation tonight, but Benjamin Arnold certainly hadn’t.

“You know it’s not your fault, right? You spent so much time telling me that Emily getting abducted wasn’t my fault. Surely you can’t have-”

The ringing of the hotline cut him off and Sammy, in a fit of desperation picked it up without a second thought,

“Sammy, I’m so sorry.”

Sammy felt like he’d been electrocuted. His every nerve was suddenly on fire even as he could feel a chill go up his spine and a shake settle in his hands. Across the desk, Ben stared at him with curiosity shining in his eyes.

“I tried, Sammy. I tried so hard not to let him know. When I heard you…” the voice choked. Every word was gravelly and forced like every word had to be pushed through a sieve. The breathing on the other end sounded like they had a boulder on their chest.

“I knew that if he found out, he would use me to get to you.”

Sammy started to speak, only to choke on the bile climbing up his throat. His brain was on fire, the shake in his hands had escalated to the point of incapacitation.

Sammy had to do this. Sammy _needed_ to say his name.

So he closed his eyes, and sobbed out a quiet, “Jack.”

If his eyes had been open, he might have seen Ben spring forward in his chair. As it was, he heard only the little gasp from the other side of the room.

“I could hear you, ya know? Every time you’re on the air we can hear you here. I don’t know why it listens but Sammy.”

A crack.

The sound of rushing wind.

It was coming.

“Sammy you have to get out.”

Sammy didn’t care about the tears pouring down his face or the sobs ripping their way out of his chest, only that he could hear Jack’s voice for just a moment longer.

“Please Sammy, promise me you’ll leave. Please.”

Dark laughter.

A woman’s scream.

A baby crying.

“You have to get out, Sammy. You have to get out of King Falls. You have-”

Thunder.

Bubbling mud.

A voice morphing into something unholy.

“You have to come get him, Sammy, or you’ll never see him again.”


End file.
